McPHERSON - The judge presiding over the trial of a McPherson man accused of killing his stepfather declared a mistrial Tuesday after some jury members realized they knew key witnesses.

Jordan Shay - The Hutchinson News - jshay@hutchnews.com

Tuesday

Jan 29, 2008 at 12:01 AMJan 29, 2008 at 5:00 PM

District Judge Carl Anderson said it was brought to his attention after the lunch break that three to four jury members recognized witnesses in the first-degree murder trial of Jeffrey Nelson.

Prosecutors say Nelson beat Stanley Swartz, 59, with an aluminum baseball bat April 25, the day after Nelson committed a botched robbery of Swartz's home. Swartz died on May 19 after spending nearly a month in a coma.

Nelson, 24, is also charged with burglary and three counts of forgery for allegedly cashing $5,500 in stolen checks.

Nelson reportedly entered Swartz's house on April 24 through the attic of an attached garage, later falling through the ceiling of the home and tracking insulation throughout the house. Swartz told police he suspected his stepson, Nelson.

Anderson granted a mistrial on the motion of the defense, and rescheduled the trial for April 21.

During jury selection, names of prospective witnesses are read aloud by the judge to the jury pool.

"Sometimes it turns out that for one reason or another, they don't remember or recognize the name when I read them," Anderson said. "The bottom line is that's what happened in this case."

The mistrial was declared after a morning of testimony from Dr. Deborah Johnson, the Wichita medical examiner who performed Swartz's autopsy May 21.

Johnson explained that the injuries she and her team saw May 21 looked much different than they would have appeared when Swartz was admitted to the hospital three weeks earlier. Autopsy photos admitted as evidence showed various injuries to Swartz's chin, ear and head.

The medical examiner also pointed out lacerations on the chin and head, explaining that lacerations most often are caused when blunt force trauma splits the skin. Photos of Swartz's injured skull and brain were also admitted into evidence, despite objections from defense attorney Stephen Ariagno.

One of the non-fatal wounds on the back of Swartz's head was consistent with a fall near the time the other head injuries occurred, Johnson said. However, the blow that killed Swartz was not caused by a trip and fall but was consistent with a strike to the head, Johnson said.

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